Seeking "Barnyard Mix" hatching eggs--Cold Tolerant layers

[JohnLongIsland]

Hello Folks,
I'm wrapping up my coop and seeking to build a very diverse backyard flock. As a kid I had chickens with my grandfather. A mix of Rhode Island and New Hampshires, Leghorns, standard American breeds. It was kind of a weird, but oddly beautiful thing.

I'm interested in creating something similar. An odd mix of good layers. I'm in it for the fun more than egg production.

Are their any northern breeders who have interesting mixes? Some RIR, Maran, EEs, Sussex, etc. Reliable, cold hardy mixes? I'd definitely be interested and willing to pay .

 

[Keziah]

im not a breeder, but i do recommend looking for easter eggers because they are so beautiful, and they are amazing egg-layers! Also, black ameraucanas are amazing too! I have buff orphingtons, leghorns, barred rocks, rhode island reds, golden comets, silver and golden laced wyandottes. They are all amazing birds and i recommend them all!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Easter eggers are the way to go for cold hardy mixes IMO. Naked legs, small combs, fluffy necks, decent laying and exciting to look at.

You location would help a lot. But you can also check out somewhere like Craigslist or the classifieds section on this site. Remember that to ship through states you need NPIP paperwork. Many people ship without, but it may get caught up at the post office and destroyed if they don't have NPIP.

 

[JohnLongIsland]

That's really what I'm looking for--some proven breeds--RIRs, Orps, some blue and green layers, because why not? And a heavy influence from dark brown layers. Some marans, some Welsummers (beautiful, speckled eggs). I also really love the colors on Sussex, and their is a local enthusiast who has some Swedish Flower Hens, and some Flower Hen crosses. I've been reading about people (artificially perhaps) developing "landrace" breeds, optimized for local conditions. I would love a project like that. A lot of work, certainly, but a very cool undertaking. I'm a chemist by training, but have a basic understanding of genetics. I was going to start with the pure breeds, but got to thinking, someone already has interesting crosses, and that would save at least one generation of breeding. Ie, a useful, interesting cross like a RIR x Maran, or a Barred Rock X Legbar... Interesting egg color genes, pretty coloration genes. Then, just throw the genes in a blender so to speak, and see what happens. The birds that don't make the cut for the next round would still be perfectly good layers. I'm gathering some local interest in the project, and have 3 local backyard enthusiasts who would let me bring hens over to their roosters.

 

[Cyprus]

I'm not a professional breeder either, however I do have a variety of great layers who do fantastic in our harsh Wisconsin winters. However, nobody is laying reliably now as it is winter.

My productive females are of the following breeds:
Leghorn
Easter Egger (green, blue and cream eggs)
Jersey Giant
ISA Brown
Black Australorp

My males are the following:
Mottled Japanese Bantam
Mille Fleur D'Uccle Bantam

If you would be interested, I couldn't supply until spring, at a time yet to be determined by the girls. I have 10 active layers, so could fill a dozen very quickly. AI can be used to insure fertility.

I am not NPIP certified and have possible Marek's (never verified) that is not transmittable through eggs.

 

[JohnLongIsland]

Easter eggers are the way to go for cold hardy mixes IMO. Naked legs, small combs, fluffy necks, decent laying and exciting to look at.

You location would help a lot. But you can also check out somewhere like Craigslist or the classifieds section on this site. Remember that to ship through states you need NPIP paperwork. Many people ship without, but it may get caught up at the post office and destroyed if they don't have NPIP.

Thank you for that information. I actually had no idea that paperwork was required. I was able to connect with some local breeders, after joining a Wisconsin chicken group and asking around. 1 farm is promising--over 200 birds, but in at least 10 breeds. The owners breed and hatch their own, and have several different lines going. I love easter eggers. I was also thinking if I can find some Buckeye and Ohio Blues.... But ultimately, the offspring of birds that have lived here for several generations would be the best route.

 

[Cyprus]

Thank you for that information. I actually had no idea that paperwork was required. I was able to connect with some local breeders, after joining a Wisconsin chicken group and asking around. 1 farm is promising--over 200 birds, but in at least 10 breeds. The owners breed and hatch their own, and have several different lines going. I love easter eggers. I was also thinking if I can find some Buckeye and Ohio Blues.... But ultimately, the offspring of birds that have lived here for several generations would be the best route.

Wait a minute. You're in Wisconsin???
I can ship to you without paperwork if you are inside my state.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Thank you for that information. I actually had no idea that paperwork was required. I was able to connect with some local breeders, after joining a Wisconsin chicken group and asking around. 1 farm is promising--over 200 birds, but in at least 10 breeds. The owners breed and hatch their own, and have several different lines going. I love easter eggers. I was also thinking if I can find some Buckeye and Ohio Blues.... But ultimately, the offspring of birds that have lived here for several generations would be the best route.

Buckeyes were designed in Ohio for Ohio, so obviously they're very cold hardy birds and fairly appropriate to WI.

I guess it's up to how much tinkering you wanna do.

A good cold hardy breed will have a moderate body size, a small comb, naked legs, and thick tight feathers with a good amount of oil to repel the snow. Buckeyes obviously meet those criteria and, additionally, are a good color for camouflage and lay well. So you could just start with buckeyes and breed new traits in, like certain colors of feathers or eggs, and just cull for hardiness for several years. Or you could start somewhere else entirely.

I have a bunch of F1 easter eggers for sale myself, but I can't ship right now and the ones I have available are all pullets and cockerels. No chicks or eggs.

 

[JohnLongIsland]

I would defiintely be interested. With the bantam roosters, how large do the resulting offspring get? I'm in Oshkosh, and probably won't be ready until spring either. I'm preparing my coop, brooder, and fiddling with an incubator as we speak.

Have you crossed the bantams with the big birds, like the Jersey Giant? It sounds interesting. I've never kpet bantams, but the breeds you have are really gorgeous.

 

[Cyprus]

The bantam crosses will be much closer to large fowl in size, but it is also dependent on who the mother is. The bantam x Leghorns will be slightly smaller than the average Leghorn. The bantam x Jersey Giant will get to about average large fowl size when mature.

I have not incubated any eggs from these crosses as my roosters are still young. However, most offspring will be black, white, or red due to the fathers' genetics.